Belkin—not Apple—comes to the rescue with an iPhone 7 headphone-and-charge dongle

The add-on that will get you back to the old days comes courtesy of Belkin.

Sam Machkovech

Behold, Belkin's Lightning Audio and Charge RockStar dongle, which launches in October for $40.

Belkin

If the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are
anything like their predecessors, chances are they'll need to be
recharged on occasion—like, for example, when you're riding a plane or a
bus. One of the many complaints about the new Lightning-only hardware revision
is that in these cases, music and podcast fans with wired
headphones won't be able to charge up and listen to audio at the same
time. That scenario goes whether you're using old 3.5mm headphones via
the smartphone's adapter or upgrading to newer Lightning-port
headphones. Charge or listen. Not both.

You might expect that another
iPhone 7 adapter could solve this problem, and thankfully that's the
case. But oddly enough, Apple won't be the company to provide that
solution. Instead, longtime iPhone accessory maker Belkin will be
offering a $40 Lightning Audio and Charge Rockstar dongle, which The Verge reports will launch on October 10.

The device is, quite simply, a Lightning-port
splitter. It offers two ports where there was originally only one.
However, Belkin makes clear that the split will only enable one port to
work as a charger and one to work as a Lightning audio device, so if you
have other peripherals or add-ons with Lightning functionality, don't
expect them to automatically work. And be mindful, 3.5mm headset owners:
you will still need to attach another dongle if you want to keep rocking—Apple's Lightning-to-3.5mm adapter. (If you didn't hear, that will come in the box with your new iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.)

If you'd rather avoid the dongle and enjoy
audio while charging your phone, you'll need to opt for wireless
options. In addition to a myriad selection of Bluetooth devices, you
could pony up for new Apple Wireless hardware such as the $159 AirPods
or the range of Beats wireless options announced at Wednesday's Apple
press conference. However, that might be a tougher sell for frequent
flyers, who have to turn off wireless devices on a regular basis.